SEC Insider: Saturday's LSU-Auburn game will be showcase for two former Georgia Bulldogs

When Auburn and LSU kick off at 6:45 p.m. Saturday on ESPN, Zach Mettenberger will be the starting quarterback for the Bengal Tigers.

He's been with LSU since 2011 after originally signing with Georgia in 2009.

On the other side, Nick Marshall will be making his fourth career start under center for Auburn and first-year coach Gus Malzahn.

Marshall transferred to the Plains this year after originally signing with, believe it or not, Georgia in 2010.

As far as anyone can tell, it will mark a strange first for the SEC.

"It didn't dawn on me until now," said Georgia coach Mark Richt when asked about two of his former players starting against one another for different teams. "I knew we were gonna play each one of those teams, but I hadn't thought about them facing one another. I'll definitely be interested to see what happens."

Since Richt's Bulldogs face North Texas in an early game, 11:21 a.m. Saturday, he said he'll be watching when two players he knows very well take the field in different uniforms Saturday night.

The quarterbacks themselves have different skill sets. Mettenberger is more of a pure drop-back passer who has flourished through three games under new offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, and Marshall is a dual-threat athlete who actually played in 13 games as defensive back for Georgia in 2011.

But the players followed similar paths to their current schools.

Mettenberger was thrown off the team at Georgia after pleading guilty to sexual battery and spent 2010 playing at Butler Community College in Kansas. He earned Junior College All-America honors at Butler and got to play the role of prized recruit for the second time.

Marshall was dismissed from Georgia when he was caught stealing money from several students and transferred to Garden City Community College, also in Kansas. He returned to his first love, the quarterback position, and passed for 3,142 yards with 18 touchdowns while rushing for 1,095 rushing yards and 19 scores.

Now their eerily similar paths will converge Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.

"They're both former Georgia football players," LSU coach Les Miles said when asked to analyze the matchup. "They're both quarterbacks who went the junior college route, and they both have real talent. I think it'll be a very quality matchup."

Malzahn also recognized the intriguing aspects of the matchup.

"It's pretty unique," Malzahn said. "Of course, our guy played another position. He didn't play quarterback for them. But it is pretty unique with both of them coming from the same team."

Besides demonstrating the high quality of Georgia's recruiting the past few years, the matchup will be a moving billboard for second chances.

Marshall, who only arrived on the Auburn campus this summer, has made the most of his opportunity, passing for 585 yards during Auburn's 3-0 start and leading the Tigers on a dramatic fourth-quarter drive to beat Mississippi State last week. After waiting his turn in 2011 and struggling through an up-and-down junior season in 2012, Mettenberger has passed for 797 yards and nine scores in LSU's new offensive scheme.

Even other big-name coaches from around the league have shared thoughts on the strange occurrence.

"Guys transfer these days, especially quarterbacks," South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. "But to have two of them playing in a game that both transferred from the same school, it's unusual. It shows the power that Georgia has in recruiting. They always sign a bunch of good players."